The invention relates to methods of fabricating substrates, in particular for optics, electronics, or optoelectronics, and also to substrates obtained by such methods. More particularly, the substrates can be used to make microsystems, sensors, light-emitting or laser diodes, and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,564 discloses a method of fabricating substrates in which a thin layer of a material is transferred from a source substrate onto a support. The operation of bonding the thin layer to the support is often achieved by molecular adhesion, and in order to obtain a good adhesive interface the surfaces that are to be bonded together must be specially prepared prior to being brought into contact. Such preparation generally includes polishing, planarizing, physical-chemical treatment, fabrication of intermediate layers, and the like, which can be relatively lengthy and complex. This is particularly true when the supporting substrate is polycrystalline.
Thus, improvements in such substrate preparation methods are desired, and certain new and useful methods are provided by the present invention.